Lincoln Akerman School backers vow to try again in Hampton Falls

Friday

Mar 14, 2014 at 2:00 AM

HAMPTON FALLS — It was a fight to the finish Tuesday and in the end the $6.6 million Lincoln Akerman School renovation and building addition plan failed, garnering only 54 percent of the 60 percent of votes necessary for passage in an election that had the highest voter turnout in the town's history.

Nancy Rineman

HAMPTON FALLS — It was a fight to the finish Tuesday and in the end the $6.6 million Lincoln Akerman School renovation and building addition plan failed, garnering only 54 percent of the 60 percent of votes necessary for passage in an election that had the highest voter turnout in the town's history.

This was the second year the School Board went forward with a proposal for renovations to the 65-year-old building plus a new separate gymnasium, with this year's attempt becoming increasingly controversial as opposition to the new gymnasium grew.

School Board members remained committed to including the gymnasium and the new music room that would create new space within the school while removing the "noisy nature" of the music program from what is now next to the school's library.

Opponents of the plan felt the gymnasium was a "want rather than a need" that could negatively impact those in town who live on fixed incomes. That view prompted a group of citizens to form a opposition group and in turn to add two petition articles to the 2014 School District warrant.

With the School Board proposal appearing as Article 1 on the ballot, petition Article 2 had asked voters to consider a $2.8 million proposal that petitioners claimed would address "all of the renovations, minus the gymnasium."

Petition Article 3 asked for approval of $450,000 for the first year of making improvements to the school.

Both Articles 2 and 3 were voted down at the deliberative session when voters successfully amended the dollar value of each to zero.

Thus began an energetic campaign of mailings and signs credited to proponents and opponents alike, and a sense of division began to be noted within the community, according to many residents.

A record number of citizens turned out on Tuesday, with Town Clerk Holly Knowles announcing there were 1110 voters, the highest ever recorded in Hampton Falls, among them 79 newly registered just that day.

Only a handful of supporters of the school building project remained in the hallway of Town Hall waiting for results, and with the realization of the results beginning to become known, the already quiet group just as quietly left the building.

"Obviously people are disappointed with the results," Deblois said. "At the bottom of this it's doing what we need for the kids, and we missed that opportunity.

"Our stance, regarding the staff, is that while we are disappointed and knowing that these needs will go another year, it doesn't change what goes on inside the brick and mortar, because (the quality of education) is not the brick and mortar itself."

Friends of Renovating Lincoln Akerman School member Anne Lane also expressed her disappointment that the renovation and building proposal failed to achieve the 60 percent needed for the bond article.

"We're very disappointed for the community and for the children," Lane said. "We felt the timing was right and the School Board had done due diligence.

"The community is saddened right now, (but) the ills of what happened this year does not define us as a community," Lane said. "As much as we are hurting right now, through all of this I witnessed (that) we are a good community, and this will happen for us. That's what I want people to take away from this."

Lane said she intends to be back at work with the Friends of Renovating LAS for her fifth year of working toward the building and addition project proposed by the School Board.

"Giving up isn't an option," Lane said.

Stacy Kinnaly, an integral part of the Friends of LAS team, also shared her thoughts on the voting results.

"Naturally I'm disappointed in the outcome, mostly for the students and teachers, but optimistic since the majority of the voters supported the proposed improvements," Kinnaly said. "Hampton Falls is a strong community that I am confident will rebound to dialogue and support a solution for the school next year."

While supporters are dealing with a negative result after several years of planning, they are focused on continuing to stay positive moving forward.

Supporters of the petition warrant articles claimed that their opposition was solely based on the new gymnasium portion of the plan.

"We all have the interests of the students as our top priority; that has never been an issue," said Tim Samway, one of the originators of the two petition warrant articles. "We hope that the School Board will work collaboratively with all concerned citizens of Hampton Falls to find ways to meet the renovation needs of LAS."

Other election results

Larry Smith is now a selectman after defeating challenger Todd Santora at Tuesday's election. Smith received 559 votes to Santora's 438.

Smith will fill the seat vacated by Selectman Chuck Graham, who decided against running for another term.

In the only other contest race on the ballot, Lisa Brown-Kucharski and Greg Parish were elected to the two seats on the Planning Board.

Parish was the top vote-getter with 581 votes, followed by Brown-Kucharski with 543 and Beverly Mutrie with 390 votes.

On the town ballot, all the money articles passed except for a $6,600 request to install a water filtration system at the Town Hall.

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